Julian Simmonds (Ryan, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

It wasn't just the Richmond Tigers who had a great season this year; so too did the mighty Kenmore Bears in the Ryan electorate. I rise to congratulate the Kenmore Bears Junior Australian Football Club on their recent victory in the QFA grand final. As a young boy, I played for the Kenmore Junior Bears, and it was through my sterling efforts that we never got close to a premiership. In contrast, this year both the seniors and the reserve Kenmore Bears teams walked away the premiership title as a testament to their strong performance throughout the season. This was the first time since the club started in 1997 that both senior teams made it to the grand final. Both the seniors and the reserves teams fought tough battles in the finals against the Victoria Point Sharks and both prevailed. The reserves were undefeated in their season. Congratulations to the lads on this remarkable achievement. It was a pleasure to join the players, families and supporters at their annual awards night, affectionately nicknamed the Bearlow Medals, to celebrate the efforts of both premiership teams. A special mention goes to the Bears reserve team captain, Andrew Adermann. Andrew has been playing at the Bears since 1997 and this was his 24th straight season. As one of the longest serving players, his leadership and experience helped throughout the season to guide the Bears to victory.

This year also marked a milestone for the Junior Bears club as their girls team made it to their very first grand final. While they didn't come away with a win, the club is excited that, in the few years the girls' team has been playing at Kenmore, they have already made it all the way to the grand final. Of course, we all know that behind every successful community team is a vast array of tireless volunteers. The club president, Terry Mumford, worked his guts out this season to ensure that his team had the support they needed to get to the top. With the challenges COVID-19 imposed on local sporting clubs, having a leader like Terry to guide the club through these challenges has been absolutely invaluable. After more than a decade of service to the club, he still lends a hand in the canteen on game day and singlehandedly makes sure every job is done in the lead-up to game day. I'd like to congratulate Terry on his commitment to this fantastic local sporting club and, likewise, I'd like to thank all the community members, coaches, executive members and support staff for the role they played in keeping this season alive through COVID. Sport is such a valuable and uplifting part of the community and it was needed this year more than most. It would have been an easy decision to pack up when the pandemic first began and walk away, but the Kenmore Bears and the team have worked incredibly hard and they persevered to keep the season going in our local community. Congratulations to all of the senior players on their win in the QFA premiership and congratulations to the under 13s junior girls team on their efforts in the grand final. I look forward to supporting both the junior and senior Kenmore Bears clubs next season as well, when we go for the repeat.

See this speech in context